More balanced market conditions have emerged, effectively ending the stronghold that buyers had on the market over the past six to eight months.  Canada’s largest markets, Toronto and Vancouver, led the charge—with June sales among the highest in history for both local real estate boards.  Close to 11,000 properties changed hands in Toronto, up 27 per cent over one year ago, setting a new record for sales in the month of June.  The figure was just slightly off the all-time peak of 11,146 units.   Residential sales in Greater Vancouver increased 75.6 per cent over one year ago, to 4,259 units, just short of the record breaking 4,333 sales, which occurred in June 2005.  Overall, major markets began to recover in March, posting escalating sales in April, May and June.  The impetus is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2009, with most centres now forecasting year-end sales on par or ahead of 2008 levels.

“While sales are the leading indicator, there are other clear signals that recovery is indeed underway,” says Elton Ash, Regional Executive Vice President, RE/MAX of Western Canada.  “Renewed consumer confidence, albeit cautious, has been key, supported by improved economic news.  In addition, we’ve seen sale price-to-list price ratios climb across the country, rising as high as 105 per cent in some communities.  Vendor incentives have also come off the table, both for resale and new housing stock.”

The recent surge in resale activity can be attributed to three key factors—pent-up demand, low interest rates, and greater affordability.  The combination—in conjunction with declining inventory levels—has created heated market conditions in hot pocket neighbourhoods, prompting a resurgence in multiple offers in June.  Average prices are holding steady or climbing, days on market are down, and inventory levels continue to tighten, especially at entry-level price points.

“The strength of the market, amid the most significant global recession in recent history once again underscores its relevance to the nation’s economic engine,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.  “Canadians believe in homeownership –a fact best illustrated by the purchasers who ventured forward in recent months and snapped up some of the best real estate deals this market has seen in years.  Those who chose to sit it out on the sidelines are now facing a market in transition, characterized by the threat of rising interest rates, low inventory levels, and upward pressure on housing values.”

Although the current pace may be unsustainable, all markers point to greater stability in the market, leading to healthier activity in the long run, with inventory levels a key variable influencing pent-up demand.

http://www.calgaryrealestate-goodrealtor.com/calgary/recovery-underway-in-key-canadian-markets-ends

reviewed by Moishe Alexander,   CFC  canadian funding corp CEO

Steve Arnold

The Hamilton Spectator

(Jul 8, 2009)A new report shows house prices rising across Hamilton in the second quarter of this year.

The study by real estate giant Royal LePage shows rising prices across the city’s neighbourhoods — with only a tiny drop in one area. Hamilton’s central area led the increases with a rise in values of almost 36 per cent.

Joe Ferrante, broker of record at Royal LePage State Realty, attributed the bounce in prices to buyers finally deciding to take advantage of low-interest-rate mortgages.

“People are recognizing that there are great values out there,” he said. “I still read the papers and read about deficits and layoffs so I’m not sure we can call what happened in June a recovery, but it’s still nice to see.”

Royal LePage president Phil Soper said several forces are helping the real estate market recover — the business usually picks up in the second quarter of the year and the 2009 figures are being compared to an especially bad 2008.

“We saw a very sharp drop in prices through the winter, but the recovery was equally impressive starting in March,” he said.

The study measures changes in the price of both a standard two- storey house and a detached bungalow in Hamilton’s Mountain, East, West and Centre areas. Changes are shown for the April-June quarter over the January-March first quarter and over the same quarter last year.

It shows the average price of a detached bungalow on the Mountain was $212,191 during the April-June period, up 2.3 per cent from the same quarter last year. During the first quarter of this year, the same class sold for an average $209,006.

A west end bungalow averaged $245,900 during the second quarter, up 4 per cent from the same period last year. In the first quarter, that property type sold for $229,706. In the east end, a bungalow averaged $167,885, up 0.5 per cent from last year and also rising sharply from $155,560 in the first quarter.

The centre of Hamilton was the big winner, showing an average price of $153,932 during the second quarter, soaring almost 36 per cent from both last year and the $113,150 average reported in the first quarter.

Soper said spikes like that usually result from contractors bidding up the price of the land under houses they want to demolish and replace, or consumers bidding for houses they plan to extensively renovate.

The story for standard two-storey houses across the four regions is largely the same — a house in that class on the Mountain averaged $304,484 during the second quarter, down 0.1 per cent from the same period last year. This segment was up sharply from the $277,525 average reported in the first quarter.

Standard houses in the west end averaged $279,141 during the second quarter, up 4 per cent from the same period last year, also rising from $229,706 in the first quarter of this year. In the centre area, the standard house averaged $154,896. That’s up 9.2 per cent from the same quarter last year and also up from the $135,743 average reported in the first three months of this year.

In the east end, this class averaged $260,711, a 7.2 per cent increase from the same period last year and also up from the $227,111 average in the first quarter.

http://www.beginnerrealestatewealth.com/6723/corrected-royal-lepage-sees-stable-canada-home-prices-sales-reuters/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

The buzz from the Twittersphere tells the story:
YouthJuiceBC: The real estate market is rising. My listing just went into multiple 5 days on the market and way above list price!!!!
AderaHome: May 2009 Vancouver Real Estate Stats: GOOD times ahead
westcoasthomes: Real Estate market in Vancouver is becoming Hot again. Homes are selling fast and in some communties the M word–Multiple Offers!!!!

Undoubtedly, over-exuberant realtors catching their breath after months of hard slogging are adding to the frenzy with some strategic propaganda. But there are some other big reasons why people in Vancouver are buying houses, or closet-sized condos, once again:

5 Reasons for the Vancouver Real Estate Land Rush of 2009
1. The Olympics are coming. Nuff said.
2. Historically Low Cost of Borrowing Money for a Mortgage. They aren’t going to get any lower. Actually, they just went back up. Savvy buyers may have been able to pressure brokers to lock in the best rates for a little while longer, but those agreements won’t last long.
3. It’s Just That Time of Year. As it was explained to me, May and June just happen to be stronger months for real estate sales year after year. Nice weather is getting the people outdoors, where they can notice those open house signs.
4. A Variation on the Duddy Kravitz syndrome. If a man without land is nothing, then a man with land in Kitsilano is really something else.
5. Sustainability and Livability. Vancouver’s unique geography, eco-minded culture and a fortuitous foundation of good urban planning has made this city into one of the most livable metropolises in the world. Really. We’re not exaggerating, rest of Canada. It’s just that nice over here.

In case you were wondering about the condo I’ve put on the market, you can see the details and the pretty pictures in my real estate listing.
view

OTTAWA – June 15th, 2009 – National resale housing market activity returned to pre-recession levels in May 2009. The rebound in activity is being led by an increase in transactions in some of the most expensive markets in the country, which is skewing the national average price upward. According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian real estate boards totaled 49,521 units in May 2009. This is less than one per cent below activity in the same month one year ago. Year-over-year declines have been shrinking since the beginning of the year.
The seasonal increase in activity continues to be stronger than normal. As a result, seasonally adjusted home sales rose eight per cent to 37,649 units in May compared to April. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase in seasonally adjusted activity. Seasonally adjusted activity in May was 43 per cent above where it stood in January 2009.
Seasonally adjusted sales were up on a monthly basis in about 70 per cent of local markets. Monthly activity gains in Toronto (nine per cent), Calgary (25 per cent), Montreal (10 per cent), Vancouver (eight per cent), and Edmonton (12 per cent) contributed most to the overall increase in monthly activity.
The national MLS® residential average sale price in May 2009 reached the highest monthly level on record. At $319,757, it was up fourth tenths of a percentage point from the previous record set in May 2008. Over the past four months, the national MLS® residential average price has recovered 16.4 per cent from the low in January. The average price for MLS® home sales climbed to new heights nationally, and in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. New records were posted in only 15 per cent of local markets in May, none of which are among the most active or expensive. The strong rebound in sales activity, not price, in Canada’s most expensive markets is driving up average prices nationally and in some provinces, just as a sharp decline in activity in these markets pushed average prices lower in late 2008.
The supply of homes coming onto the MLS® market continued to decelerate in May. Seasonally adjusted MLS® residential new listings edged lower by eight tenths of a percentage point to 65,070 units, the lowest level since December 2005. Seasonally adjusted new residential listings in May were 19 per cent below the peak reached one year ago.
With the number of sales rising strongly and new listings trending downward, the balance between supply and demand is firming up in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. This resulted in national sales activity as a percentage of new listings reaching the highest point since December 2007. Residential dollar volume for MLS® sales climbed 10 per cent from the previous month to reach $11.4 billion in May. This is more than 50 per cent above the low of $7.5 billion reported last January.
“Sales activity is now closer to the pre-recession peak than it is to the recent low point reached last January,” says Regina Broker Dale Ripplinger, President of The Canadian Real Estate Association. “Strengthening consumer confidence, low interest rates, and improved affordability are drawing buyers to the housing market across Canada,” he added.
“Fueled by a string of monthly increases in activity, the number of transactions in May reached the highest point since July 2008,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Inventory levels are still high in many markets, but fewer new listings and rising sales activity suggests that the selection of homes available for sale may shrink as the year progresses. The supply of homes up for sale needs to be drawn down further before average price increases become more widespread among local markets.”
PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month. The Canadian Real Estate Association has previously released these separately.
CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.
MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 96,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. Further information can be found at www.crea.ca.
Click here for full report

http://torontoism.com/2009/06/15/national-resale-housing-continues-to-rise-in-may/

The value of all residential transactions recorded through the MLS system in Nova Scotia totaled $130.5 million in March 2009, a 16 per cent decrease from year-ago levels. The total value of all MLS sales activity in Nova Scotia was $137.4 million, a year-over-year decline of 17 per cent from March 2008.

“Despite the downturn, a number of buyers and sellers are taking advantage of the increased affordability the current market has to offer,” says Linda Smardon, president of the Nova Scotia Association. “Activity during the rest of the spring market will depend heavily on what happens with interest rates and the consumer response to the federal budget incentive programs,” she adds.

The average price for MLS home sales in Nova Scotia was down slightly in March 2009 compared to levels one year earlier. Edging down one per cent from March 2008, the provincial average price for home sales was $188,651. The national MLS residential average price in March 2009, by comparison, was down by eight per cent year-over-year. The MLS average price rose by 1.6 per cent in Halifax-Dartmouth to $229,548. The small decrease in provincial average price was in part the result of fewer sales in this region, where homes are priced higher than in other markets across the province. Sales activity was down by 19 per cent year-over-year in Halifax-Dartmouth, compared to the 15 per cent provincial decline. This resulted in fewer transactions at the higher end of the price spectrum being included in the calculation of the provincial average price.

The number of active listings continues to increase in Nova Scotia, but year-over-year gains are slowing as demand begins to recover and new listings trend lower.

“Home sellers are adjusting to the changes in the market and are working with their realtor to price homes realistically, and when that happens properties will sell. We anticipate a fairly strong April market,” Smardon says.

http://www.jeffreyteam.com/blog/other-real-estate/resale-housing-market-strong/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

“The housing market continued to rebound in May with a fourth consecutive increase in monthly sales, according to the CREA”.
This is good news, Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO says.
Meanwhile, the pace of new home construction is down close to 50 per cent from last year while new listings in the existing-homes market are also sharply declining.

Read the full article here.

For a home buyer, it is back to the hectic days of making a quick decision when a suitable home is found. There is less room for negotiation, and sellers are holding on to their prices and they have no problem finding a buyer.

The demand far exceeded what’s available in the market place, and a return of a “seller’s market” is evident in multiple offers on many homes. The current strong market activities is unlikely to change anytime soon, as inventory of new listings is not replenishing at the same rate of homes being sold.

http://richmondbcrealestates.com/?p=470

The average price for April transactions was $395,609 – down less than one per cent compared to the same month last year.

“The average resale home price has moved in line with last year’s level because of tighter market conditions experienced this Spring,” stated Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “Home sales have increased strongly relative to new listings, bolstering home prices.”

http://toreal.blogs.com/toronto/2009/06/toronto-real-estate-board.html

The info provided by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

It’s a short snapshot, but in the first two weeks of May, 4,561 homes sold in the GTA, up 3% from 4,422 in 2008. However, the average sales price for GTA homes was down a slight 0.5% from the same period last year, as was the average price in the 905.

The picture looked rosier in the city of Toronto, where sales were up 7.5% and the average price of homes increased a touch – half a per cent – to $439,459, up from $437,205 last year.

For people like David Schulze and Kristen Tippin, it spells a looming end to a fabled buyer’s market that never quite materialized.

The couple had hoped to be living in their own house by the time they exchange their marriage vows on June 13.

But the few good houses in their sub-$500,000 price range are snapped up too quickly, or go for well over the asking price.

“I think it’s been a little bit more competitive than we had hoped,” Mr. Schulze said. “[We hit] all the sort of things that we were hoping not to get involved in, with it being a so-called buyer’s market.”

Their real estate agent said the turnaround has been swift. The market has not swept back to the headiness of 2007, but it is rallying to a “new normal” where good stock is being snapped up for healthy prices.

“A few months ago, you could take your time, you could negotiate, you could take a week or two to think about it. Right now, if you see a house and you like it, you’ve got to put in an offer,” she said.

Low- and mid-range homes are driving the market’s rally, Toronto real estate agents say. Houses over $1-million remain slower to sell.

But overall confidence is returning, said Andrew Zsolt, president of Coldwell Banker Terrequity Realty, bringing prices up with it. “People waiting for the bottom of the market have missed it.”

Peripheral industries have seen a rally as well. House stager Anne Bourne said she was busy throughout the downturn, but for different reasons.

During the worst of the slump, desperate home owners and real estate agents called on her to spruce up homes languishing on the market.

Now, people are calling before they list a property in a bid to ensure they snare the listing price. “I think sellers are realizing this is not the time to be testing out a price,” she said.

The buyers are there, but only if the property is appealing for the price, she said.

Generally speaking, Toronto real estate agents point to the east for any remaining bargains, but say canny and quick buyers are still finding good deals across the city.

Mr. Schulze and Ms. Tippin are hoping that holds true until they return from their wedding and start searching again.

“Some [sellers] are still hoping they’ll get someone to overpay, but I think people aren’t willing as much to overpay right now. Maybe that’s one thing that’s changed, so that’s good,” Mr. Schulze said.

“We’ve decided that we’re not going to be able to beat the market. We’re not going to be able to outsmart it, so we’re just going to wait until the time is just right for us and do it then.”

http://www.jeffreyteam.com/blog/toronto-real-estate-market/toronto-real-estate-market-percolates-again/

Torontosuites.com has emerged as one of the biggest names in the real estate market in Canada. Services offered by them include Toronto Luxury Furnished Apartments, Toronto Corporate Housing, Extended Stay Suites Toronto, Toronto Furnished Suites and Toronto Luxury Condos which have significantly grown in popularity off late.

“We take care of the relocation needs of our customers”, said one of the senior officials of the company when asked about the services offered by Torontosuites.com.

Toronto Suites is known for providing world class services when it comes to providing furnished luxury apartments for the vacationers and business travelers. Apart from providing well equipped luxury apartments Toronto Suites is also offering its services of relocation and luxury rentals.

Relocation is a stressful job and Toronto Suites is playing a vital role in providing world class corporate housing facilities to its customers on affordable rates. Corporate housing is gaining popularity with relocating employees due to its cost saving nature, and consumers can enjoy all the facilities and amenities on offer without burning a hole in their pocket.

Toronto Rentals ensures all the comfort to their consumers at competitive rates which are less expensive than extended stay hotel prices. Corporate housing includes all the facilities that a family needs for a comfortable extended stay. These Corporate Suites include cable television, bedding, towels, washing machine and high speed internet connection to keep you connected with the world. Each kitchen is well equipped with all the amenities and facilities that a family needs and expects. The conveniences include dishwasher, coffee maker, microwave, cookware and cutlery. Housekeeping and laundry facilities are also provided on the customer’s request. Additional services include HDTV, gaming systems and gym membership among others.

Demand for business relocation and corporate housing services are steadily growing despite the recent economic crunch. Toronto Suites attributes the company’s success to their fair pricing structure and superior accommodations which has been significant in building a loyal customer base for the company.

http://www.malebits.com/article30470.html